Friday, August 30, 2013

Being in a university, i cannot run away from being in a committee or another. Organizing events would be another feature in the prospectus of becoming a Lecturer in the medical faculty.I have left this for quite sometime and i guess now i need to reactivate my special neurons to organize things again.

I used to enjoy this in med school and probably went overboard because it became my main agenda rather than studying! Haha (Prof Raja Khuzaiah warned me again and again, and of course it is something she will always say about me everytime we are in a meeting together!)

I'll be involved in the upcoming Essentials of HO workshop organized by the College of Physician. The main core of my piece would be acute medicine n resuscitation. Me being me, I want to create an impact and not just another didactic unattractive session. I am trying smething new and hopefully it works with good reviews. It is not easy doing this crusade but I am a strong believer in experential learning rather than the old school didactic sessions.

It is quite interesting that i came across a website , A group of young doctors dedicated to improve the learning of others, HO Workshop. Kudos to these few individuals who has been working hard for the past few years; preparing guides and pointers for their colleagues. It is a very good initivative and i salute them for doing that. I am sure, a lot of new doctors or budding doctors will use their guides and info provided to their benefit.

Providing resources and information is a noble cause. I remembered Mark Finis notes ; a gentleman who provided extensive notes in Anaesthesia and I am sure has been used by a lot of individuals from around the world. Imagine the pahala or deeds he has generated automatically. True honest intentions and something i definitely would like to do if I can. I did start a special page for Part 1 Anaesthesia resources, but after i left the Masters programme, I sort off forgot about it. I was hoping in the Wiki format i would attract people to continue my work. I guess as how the world is, we do not really have that many who want to GIVE but aplenty of TAKERS.

Prof Dato KY in his last faculty meeting mentioned about being careful on what you post on social media. True, in any ways that we do in this world, we have to always be careful on what we say and potray. However, the multimedia explosion (as how we described it in the 90s) has progressed to such that people are dependant on it. Social media is now a part of our lives and trying to deny its existence is against te mainstream. It is how u plan to use it to your advantage.

Well, my blog post today is not about the social media but about my boss, the Dean of UiTM Medical faculty. Am i worried if this post is being read by him? Of course not! Otherwise this blog could have been private a long time ago! What am I going to say about him? Read on if you must :)

Prof Dato KY... i reckon everybody in the medical fraternity especially Cardiology will know him well. He is well established and his impressive CV will speak for him. He became the Dean of UiTM medical school 10 years ago. Looking back retrospectively, he was definitely the right person to lead UiTM in its developing years.He is moving on to head a private university and it would be interesting to see his work there.

Before i joined UiTM, there were lots of stories about him. Mostly not so encouraging haha He was in my interview when i applied to join as a trainee. It was interesting as at that time, there was no more opening for anaesthesia; so i went through the surgery list. Only in front of the panel that i made it clear, I wanted to join Anaesthesia. He did not give me a hard time then ( as how to my friends who did, not too sure whether it was related to me suddenly saying Im for anaesthesia interview, not surgery.. haha)

Prof Dato KY is on his own a unique man. I never knew him personally, what he is like outside the faculty. I know that he is a workaholic as he will reply to my email wherever he is in the world! He does meetings at odd hours and people under him just had to submit!

He was clear what he wanted from us during the traineeship, sort out to become Specialist as soon as possible. I like his pep talks as he can really be inspiring. His ideas maybe bombastic to some, but nothing is impossible. Many people ridicule him behind his back, but he stayed on and the best thing about him is he prove everybody wrong. (in a way justifying his statement that he is always right.. haha)

He walks the talk. That is why I am impressed with him. He may have certain attributes that make people go logger heads with him but alas that is his personality! He has a very strong character with a noble cause; thus the only way to survive is how he has done for many years. True, sometimes it can be totally out of this world when you are challenged by him, but i guess you just have to rise up to it!I do respect his ways and Alhamdulillah, when you justify your needs he will be attentive. Personally, he has never stopped me from doing what I want and I am thankful to him for that.

Some might question his leadership. He can be really stern and dictatorish.I have encountered these moments and sometimes cringe on it too. However His brand of leadership, and in my opinion he is the best person to bring UiTM Medical Faculty to where it is now. His leadership style was required and he proved it in the end with the results! He may not have many friends outside the fraternity; otherwise the surgical services would have kicked off gallantly earlier but we cannot be perfect all the time can we?

All good thing come to an end and it is sad that he will not be with UiTM as the Dean anymore. I have always been inspired by his ways and he is a role model. To achieve what he did is a mammoth task but never impossible. Insya Allah, the objective is to always aim for excellence in our own way and to benefit mankind in a way or another.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Our open heart surgery hit the number 10 on the 20th of August. It is definitely an achievement since starting the whole mumbo jumbo in June. It has been a steep learning curve; in fitting into the expectations of the institution. It is not easy running a cardiac centre as the risk is as high as it can get. I do look at this opportunity as a challenge and it is not an easy one to manage.

I am more familiar with the off pump technique which demands a swift control of the situation for the surgery to be successful. It is not easy but slowly with Prof Zamrin's guidance, it is a wonderful journey.I have my own objectives and aim , in line with the organization's mission and vision. To achieve this is a long shot but not impossible, never impossible.

To 10 and BEYOND!

p/s of course, in statistics.. the increasing number of cases would lead to an increase of possible complications.

I reckon it is obvious that i am without a maid now haha look at my blog posting!! I was not ableto blog about Aidilfitri this year and the arrival of my new nephew! Wow.. i must have been that busy huh.. to top it up, the ogoing CABG cases in UiTM. Of course, the more we do, the more expected of complications will occur.

Dzulaikha turned 1 on the 21st.. I guess she was the first amongst all her siblings that we did not manage to celebrate her birthday even in the smallest manner. Sorry my dear child.. both ur Walid and Ummi are overwhelmed by the things that we have to do in getting the 5 of u sorted out day in day out.

"Ayman Akhil's arrival"

We have started Dzulaikha in a nursery near our home. The best option was to place her in Salsabila along with her elder 3 siblings. Unfortunately, due to the taska's policy it was not possible o enrol her on short term basis despite our willingness to pay. ALhamdulillah, Dzulaikha looked like she is adapting well. It is a bit confusing at times that she would cry both ways either being given to or coming back home at the end of the day.. haha

Im trying very hard to fit in my training regime for my kl marathon at the end of Spetember. It looks almost impossible atthe moment and it became obvious how my fitness has dropped in my to short runs during Syawal. hmm.. i need to get on my bike back somehow.. somehow..

All is not gloom though.. I reckon the current maidless period is indeed a blessing as I am trying to learn how to balance my life; busy working life with the demands of my family.

We'll see on when i will blog again.. hopefully not too far in the future :)

Monday, August 05, 2013

Why do people blog? It was a trend a few years ago before the arrival of the efficient social media tools like FB and Twitter.Many jumped into the trend bandwagon and we had all kinds of blogs.Election results ie GE12 in 2008 was influenced by bloggers and the internet. That was how powerful it is.I have always loved writing and i blogged because it gave me the opportunity to continue what i like to do. At the same time, improving my language writing so that it will not rot.

Blogs were interesting and you can see why one blog had more followers compared to the other. People can relate their lives and share; sometimes it was easier to create an avatar and speak out your mind. Various kinds of blogs were available , you just have to google and find out. My blog had its popularity spur for a while, as people were keen to know what anaesthetists really do. I was happily blogging about my work and my encounters, that sometimes i did forget the ethics of what you can reveal in such postings.

However when FB came, it brought a massive tsunami with it. It was more user-friendly and became a tool for socializing which was never seen before. Myspace lead the concept but it was not as holistic as facebook.I myself took a turn and slowly my blog writings became more numb and lifeless. I do still maintain the blog because it brought a lot of memories. Somehow, nowadays it became more of my diary compared to my opinions and writings. I used to comment on the current political issues etc but my interest on it has mellowed. I am not sure how many silent followers are left to see what my life is about but that was never the point for me blogging.It was never about gaining popularity; just a space to share and write.

Why am I writing all this? Well, i was reviewing my blog and discovered how my postings evolved and the change of content from when it started. Well, as how the evolution theory works; we change and evolve and that is just how life goes.

Friday, August 02, 2013

The maid is going back home this weekend. She is off for the next two months. She has not been back to Indonesia for the past 2 years. The high alarm alert has been activated by wifey again and again. I am in some sort of denial phase, denying to think about how to handle our 5 kids in the near future.

It is coming! really really soon :) Wow, handling all my 5 kids alone without the maid. Honestly, I've not been really involved as how I used to be when we had 3. I was in charged of the kitchen, laundry, groceries, packing their bags etc almost a huge chunk of the work, and now having 3 unindependent ones : Marissa, Dzarief and Dzulaikha it is a challenge of yet to be seen!

It is scary come to think of it..

Dzulaikha is planned to be sent to a nearby nursery, and it'd be my job to send her there every morning. Qayyum will remain in sekolah agama for transit, where he will change & eat.. and then be sent to the school. The other 3 will be doing their usual routine of going to Salsabila. That solves the daily management.

BUT.. when they are back, we have to sort out their food, then mandi.. and then laundry for the kids! I remember how tedious it was (not the laundry) but when arranging their clothes and to match them correctly! hahaha wuuhuuu.. A big challenge!

My Cardiac list will get busier, and its going to be tough to balance between caring for the kids and work.

So.. lets enjoy these last 3 days of freedom before it is time to say hello to reality! Haha I'm being relaxed about it because perhaps.. I am still in denial :)